Today’s word: MELLIFLUOUS (Adjective): (muh-LIF-loo-us)
Definition(s) include:
1). Having a smooth, rich flow;
2). A smooth, sweet sensation or filled with something sweet (like honey).
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mellifluous
Happy Reading, Cyndi
![19243739_s[1] Villain](http://cyndifaria.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/19243739_s1-villain.jpg)
I’m in the process of plotting my third novella in the Promises Collection titled A Promise Worth Sharing. This is a light paranormal contemporary romance. I have my protagonists named, but the villain… Right now I’m calling him Banker Brian. It’s horrible. I want Cruella Deville (cruel devil).
About the Villain:
He’s 32, charismatic, wealthy, and his family have been bankers since the town’s established date in 1849. Where his father was benevolent and forgiving to the point that he almost cost the family their banking business, Brian plans on making money and reestablishing his family’s power in the town. He’s black and white when it comes to making mortgage payments. Pay up or you’re out. Because of the economy, many can’t refinance and have lost their property to the bank. Many mom and pop business have closed. The town needs a developer (In comes heroine). But Brian is cutting corners to save money. And the building codes within the small strip mall he’s sold to the heroine are subpar. His coverup will ultimately be his demise.
Your turn:
I need a name for my villain. And I love names with dual meanings. Don’t be shy. Have an idea, please post. One lucky person will see their villian’s name in my next novella. 
Today’s word: Taphephobia (Noun): (taff-uh-FOE-bee-uh)
Definition(s) include:
1). The abnormal fear of being buried alive.
Now I don’t see the fear of being buried alive as abnormal. I’m sure Nick Stokes from the TV show CSI’s fifth season finale, titled Grave Danger would agree.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taphephobia
Happy Reading, Cyndi
Yesterday, I wrote the end to my upcoming short story titled A Promise Worth Remembering. And I can’t wait to share the blurb and cover. I promise I’ll post those very soon. But before I started writing, I had to envision my hero Tucker Pierce. I asked myself what kind of hero did I want to play his role?
Many television actors came to mind:
Comedian Hero: Roy Miller, played by Tom Cruise, in Knight and Day. Roy is a save the day while laughing kind of guy, whose girl June Havens, played by Cameron Diaz, saves him in the end. He’s so funny and their chemistry is fantastic.
The Wounded Hero: Damon Salvatore, played by Ian Somerhalder, in The Vampire Diaries. Damon’s sacrifice for his brother, Stephan, is portrayed by Damon’s motto “I don’t deserve the girl, Elaina, because I’m too flawed and, therefore, must push her into Stephan’s arms.” So, he’s a damaged hero he believes isn’t worth saving. He wants to be good, but… Elaina helps him to see he’s a man worth saving.
Compassionate Hero: Sheriff Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln, in the Walking Dead. Rick starts out as a man who unconditionally loves his wife. Only problem is that his “compassion to a fault” way of seeing the world no longer works in zombie land. To protect the woman he loves, he must make hard choices and turn off his compassionate nature. (Spoiler Alert) He loses the girl. Unfortunately, he won’t be getting her back. Will Rick learn to balance the two, compassion and hard choices, and finally find love? I guess we will have to wait until next season.
There are personality triats in these three heroes I love. Roy’s wit and casual style, Damon’s passion for Elaina—seeing that what she wants is important—and Rick’s compassion, but willingness to pull out the guns in order to save the girl…maybe even risk her hating him for a time.
I created Tucker Pierce, who is a combo of these three. From the outside, Tucker’s youth-filled years (backstory) seemed perfect. He’s captain and star of the varsity swim team and gets straight A’s. He’s the son of a rich and influential father. He’s found love in the new girl, Bailey Clark. But she’s a Clark. Think Montague and Capulet or Hatfield and McCoy. Their love is a forbidden love. They also each have a desperate secret neither shares with each other. Those wounds keep them apart for ten years.
A Promise Worth Remembering will bring them together again, older, wiser, but on the verge of change. Written in Bailey’s POV, if she can face her fear once and for all and trust Tucker to be that man who will lay down his pride and make the hard choices, help her to leave the past behind and embrace the future—while each revealing their wounds—they might just save each another on their way to happily ever after.
Do you have a favorite hero? What are some of the traits in him you can’t live without?
Today’s word: Pastiche (Noun): (pah-STEESH)
Definitions include:
1). A haphazard collection of items from various sources (potpourri)
2). Musical, literary, or artistic composition made up of different works.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastiche
Happy Reading, Cyndi
A winning retreat with Margie Lawson began with Sacramento Valley Rose RWA’s three-day writing retreat at Stanford Sierra Camp. Located on Fallen Leaf Lake near Tahoe, California, speaker Margie Lawson evoked my muse like none other. She has a diverse history from holding a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology to Directing an Impotence Clinic. And when it comes to analyzing a manuscript, she makes the task interesting, exuberant, unique. She isn’t afraid to tackle the most challenging manuscript issues.
DEEP EDITING TECHNIQUE:
Check out my example of a BASIC sentence: Marcus’s voice caused Anna to shiver.
Using one of Margie’s techniques, I SUPER EMPOWERED the sentence:
At the sound of Marcus’s voice, Anna’s body quaked from the roots of her scalp down to the tips of her toenails and every cell in between, awakening a volcano on the fringe of exploding.
By expanding the description, the reader will connect to Anna’s reaction to Marcus at a much deeper level. And notice the use of the POWER WORD (exploding) deliberately placed at the end to give the sentence an extra punch.
THE EDIT SYSTEM:
The Edit System uses different colored highlighters to differentiate between dialogue, backstory, setting, and a few more.
By applying this system to my manuscript, visually I was able to spot where I needed to add dialogue, setting cues, or reduce introspection. And so on.
RHETORICAL DEVICES:
Familiar (sampling):
Not So Familiar (sampling):
By taking Margie’s classes, I’ve learned to take a ho-hum manuscript and transform the pages to an eye-popping, mouth-dropping, with tingles on top experience!
And you can, too, with Margie’s expertise.
If you’re interested in learning more about Margie’s techniques, check out Margie Lawson’s website. She offers all kinds of craft support and on-line classes and even private retreats. A complete schedule of appearances can be found on her site.
Also, the resort, located at an altitude of 6,380 feet and surrounded by snow-tipped peaks, is open to groups of 30 or more and offers full service gourmet meals, boating activities, hiking, bonfires, and much, much more. For additional information and how to schedule your group’s retreat visit Stanford Sierra Camp.
Today’s word: Convivial (Adj): (kuhn-VIV-ee-ull)
Definitions include:
1). Relating to, occupied with, fond of good times; drinking, feasting, hanging out with good friends.
What a fun word!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convivial
Happy Reading, Cyndi
I have a little confession. All my life I’ve stashed books in various places. A book tucked under my bed, in the top drawer of the vanity, under my favorite shirt in the bottom chest of drawers, and, once, inside my riding boots. Silly kids stuff, right?
Did I fear my younger sister coloring the pages or the dog chewing on the bindings or my parents discovering their elementary-aged daughter was reading Peter Benchley’s Jaws?
Nope. It all started after I watched Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Firemen burned any house that contained books! As the niece of a fireman who could stop by anytime, you can see my fear-filled dilemma.
Now I know Bradbury’s intent focused on censorship, government control of individuals through media, and resistance to conformity (read more here), but as a child I didn’t quite understand the difference between fact and fiction. Did my uncle burn houses because he’d found a book inside, but then turn around and risk his life to put out a fire he’d started?
Of course not. But such is the mind of a child.
The Stash Grows:
As the years passed, I grew to treasure books more and more. I spent hours and hours in the library. Loaning one of my books only to find it returned with dog-eared pages had me snarling at the atrocity and vowing never to lend another book to the perpetrator. I’m not quite a hoarder, allowing myself only three hutch-sized bookshelves filled with “keepers,” but I certainly envied the local librarian.
What’s in my Stash?
Right now, I have an anthology titled The Unquiet, by J.D. Rob and others, and the book titled The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne, near my vanity—I love anthologies and sometimes forget I’m at the vanity to spruce up, not read. Blake Snyder’s non-fiction book titled Save the Cat is taking up room near my spice cabinet in the kitchen, in case I want to bone up on structure while I’m stirring spaghetti sauce. The book Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels, by Sarah Wendell, is in my end table drawer for inspiration. Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas Armageddon is in my nightstand along with Stieg Larsson’s book titled The Girl Who Played with Fire. Both read, I need to move them to the “keeper” book case and replace the space with something new. And a short story I found on Thomas Ryan’s website titled Ruth is stashed inside my car’s console in case I want some reading material while inside the car wash.
What I’ve discovered:
Although I’ve changed the reasons behind stashing books—no longer fear-based—I will never change my desire to understand the recesses of another’s mind scrolled onto the pages of a good book.
Okay, your turn.
Contest Time. Comment for a chance at a $5 Amazon gift card.
What book(s) have you stashed or keep close and why?
Today’s word: BILLET-DOUX (noun): (bill-ay-DOO) (Plural billets-doux)
Definition(s) include:
1). A love letter.
During the war, my grandparents exchanged billets-doux every day they were apart.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billet-doux
Happy Reading, Cyndi
With spring comes change and growth. As I morph from a mostly writer support website to a website targeted at connecting with more readers, I’m actually as excited as a butterfly on the verge of taking its first flight. There’s a little thrumming inside me as I ponder which direction to go.
To help with direction, I enrolled in a class titled Virtual Real Estate through Author EMS. By familiarizing myself with the numerous social networking sites readers like to visit (Pinterest, Goodreads, Facebook Author Page, and so many more), I hope to connect to even more readers with my next release.
With my first short story via this website, Twitter, Facebook, several Yahoo Groups, a guest blog, and Amazon, over 10,000 copies of my debut short story have been downloaded thus far. Imagine if I actively connected with other sites? Reader sites?
If you’re a reader that loves to read about courageous heroes and heroines that stand up to and defeat injustice, yet find love and a place to call home along the way, you might just be one of my future followers.
So stay tuned for updates and successes and subtle changes with this site. Want me to connect with you? Send me your link.
I’m so glad you’re flying with me!
Happy flight,
Cyndi Faria
